NEDERLAND -- Sightings of river otters have become increasingly rare in Boulder County over the last century. Due to increased trapping of the animals, the population has significantly decreased, and even within the last decade, there have usually only been a couple of dozen sightings of the animals a year in the county.

In the first week of March 2025, the town of Nederland voted to bring otters into the area to increase sightings in the county. Instead of river otters, however, the town voted to introduce a different otter species to the community.

Since mid-March, Nederland has brought in multiple families of sea otters and relocated them to Barker Reservoir, a colder marine environment. The town hopes that the otters will settle comfortably in and around the reservoir, constantly monitoring the families and the conditions in the reservoir.

Many more resources will have to be transported to the reservoir to build a permanent home for the otters. Sea otters typically wrap themselves in kelp to prevent themselves from drifting, and their diet primarily consists of sea urchins. As such, other organisms from oceanic kelp forests will also be brought to the reservoir to build this new ecosystem.

The town’s government officials and community members hope that the sea otter families can permanently settle in this small oceanic ecosystem in the area. As the ecosystem is monitored over the coming weeks, officials will determine if this saltwater ecosystem can survive in a freshwater environment and whether or not it is viable to sustain the ecosystem in a county drinking water supply.